You are here

FrontRunner: Shark Week

Nancy Wong Bryan

OCTOBER 01, 2005

San Francisco–based Shark Diver (888.405.3268, www.sharkdivers.com) has been dropping clients into Great White–infested waters off the Mexican coast for more than five years. This summer, the tour provider and outfitter acquired the M/Y Kayana, a 120-foot Vosper Thornycraft vessel designed by the late Jon Bannenberg, to transport thrill-seekers to the murky marine environment in comfort and style.

The Kayana accommodates as many as 10 passengers in five double staterooms, each with a private bathroom and satellite television. The yacht’s nine-member crew includes diving experts and a chef, as well as a videographer who will join you in the Kayana’s 50-square-foot, high-tensile-aluminum cage to document your underwater adventures on DVD. The boat departs from Isla Guadalupe (known as Great White Heaven), a former prison island 210 miles west of Ensenada. Private charter of the yacht costs approximately $100,000 per week, which includes the equipment, instruction, and manpower required to encounter these animals eye to steely eye.